A Time Before
by hajdukseventeen
Summary: Before the pain, before the loss, before the change. A time before the story, an outsiders prequel.


We were just hanging 'round the park sidewalk across from my house not doing anything really. Steve and two-bit were playing a game of cards. Soda and Darry were talking 'bout looking for the footy to have a game. Dally, Johnny and I were just leaning against the fence having a smoke. Then we saw a girl, young; no older than Soda, with headphones on and a portable cassette player in the other hand. Boy was she pretty; Big deep brown eyes, Light brown (blonde roots) straight-ish hair 'bout waist length and in jiggered layers, and perfect light tan clear skin, and dimples.

She had tight, long boot cut jeans, a denim drawstring bag, chucks on and a faded old band T-shirt. She was mouthing the song with her lips. And then when she was almost parallel on the sidewalk to where we were she sat down, knees out in front.

Then she took out a sketch pad and pencil and started drawing something over our heads, behind us. She looked very interested in whatever it was she was drawing. She was probably middle class but maybe a soc.

Some of the guys were talking 'bout 'getting her off our turf'. Mainly Dally, Steve and Two-bit.

"Hey, come on guys," Said Darry in a go easy sort of voice.

"Don't worry, we'll just scare her off, she might be a soc," Said Steve.

"Hey! You. You know you're on greaser turf?" Yelled Dally. Him, Steve and Two-bit walking across the road towards her.

She looked up openly and took her head phones off.

"Sorry?" She asked with a concerned, curious expression, biting her lip, her eyebrows knitting up in a cute way.

"You, you're on Greaser turf," He repeated. They were on the sidewalk by now, one on each side, Dally in front.

"Greaser Turf?" She asked innocently but with her eyebrows raised. Her voice slightly amused.

"Yeah... you a soc?" He asked in a commanding voice.

"Soc?" She asked sitting on the fence now.

"Don't play dumb," He said shaking his head. Two-bit took out his switchblade holding it by his side.

"What were you drawing anyway?" Asked Steve in a threatening way.

"You see that tree over there," she said pointing at the really old twisted gnarled tree behind us.

Steve cocked his eyebrow. "Really," He asked.

"Uh-huh," She answered her voice trailing off. She had just spotted Two-bit's switchblade.

She hopped back over the fence (quickly stashing her sketch pad and pencil in her bag), Dally reaching for her wrist but missing. She backed away onto Soda's, Darry's and I's front yard. Reaching in her back pocket she pulled out a 4 inch switchblade, nothing compared to Two-bit's. The boys jumped over the fence.

"You wouldn't...," she started. "What do you want!" she restarted.

"What have you got in that bag of yours?" He questioned.

A sick looking expression came over her face and she went as pale as a sheet. Then she ducked under Steve's arm and ran, man she was fast! She jumped over our side fence doing a kind of side flip and across the road toward the park.

They chased after her. Dally nearly caught her taking a tackle dive at her but then she did a back flip the other way and he landed into the ground. She then jumped the park fence. She then backed into a wall and raised her hands in surrender. Up close she looked about 5 foot five maybe six?

"You win, what do you want?" She asked breathless.

"Relax. We just wanted to know if you're a soc," Said Two-bit.

"I'm sick and tired of being screwed around so just tell what the hell you're talking about?" She said.

"Guess that means no," Said Steve sarcastically.

"Yeah but we still don't know for sure," remarked Dally. "Where 'bouts do you live?" asked Dally probably still trying to figure out if she was a soc.

"Sunder St..." whispered the girl.

Sunder St was in an ok part of town but not up where the snobs lived. I was right before she was middle class. Oh man those guys had probably scared the daylight outta her, 'specially since she didn't really know what a soc was.

She made to push past Steve but he grabbed hold of the top of her arm. She shook it off and replied in a voice that was dripping with acid and sounded full threatening ", Let go". And Steve did, I reckon he was pretty stunned she could have that effect and didn't stop to think.

Now she looked thoroughly pissed off and went back down to where she was sitting across the street with a rigid stride. She then took her sketch pad back out began drawing the ancient tree behind us again.

Now Soda looked like he was about to go over there and join her. Darry looked at him and said _come on don't_ with his eyes. But Soda just shook his head and muttered something about just wanting to talk.

He sauntered over there and she looked up, then swore in a foreign language – presumably – and rolled her eyes. She was about to open her mouth when Soda said with his hands up in a surrender pretence ", I just wanna talk".

She sighed and muttered something like whatever.

"So what're you listening to?" asked Soda a little attentively.

"Hendrix...no wait Ekaterina Velika now," She replied. "What do you listen to?"

"Elvis," He answered doing the Elvis trademark. She raised her eyebrow sceptically. "Who're Ekaterina Velika?" Asked Soda.

"They're a Yugoslav band – rock," She replied kind of in a way in which you could tell she was interested in the topic.

Soda picked this up as well. "So you listen to rock? Cool, what other bands?" He asked.

"Well I listen to David bowie...The Ramones e.t.c," she trailed off.

"Got quite a unique pallet aye?" Remarked soda with one eyebrow cocked up.

"You could say so...or a good one," She replied articulately.

"So why you here? You know, in the 'shoddy part' of town," he questioned.

She looked really sad and upset for a moment, like she was gonna cry, but then it passed and she simply shrugged her shoulders.

He apparently decided to change the topic, slightly. "So where are you staying then?" He asked.

She opened her mouth for a moment then shut it. "I'm not sure..." She trailed off.

He stared thoughtfully for a while. She ignored him and continued to draw the gnarled, ancient tree behind us. She looked cold in just her T-shirt. Soda noticed that too. "Hey here you look cold use my jacket," He offered handing her his jacket. She started to refuse but eventually gave in as the breeze started to pick up.

"Thanks..." She mumbled.

"No problem," Replied Soda cheerfully.

She eventually continued with her drawing. Soda glanced at it and whistled.

She flinched, startled. "What?" She said, annoyed.

"That drawing there of yours, It's sure tuff," He said without missing a beat.

"Tuff?" she replied, her eyebrows creasing.

"Yeah awesome," He said explanatorily.

"Whatever," She muttered yet again but with a small smile touching her lips.

She had apparently finished with her drawing a few moments later and then put a new cassette in her player. She skipped quite a few tracks before reaching her destination.

"What song?" Asked Soda questioningly with his eyebrow cocked.

"Drive my car, The Beatles," She said with a grin.

Soda rolled his eyes. The Beatles were _not_ cool 'round here.

"What?" she replied.

"Nothing," he said shaking his head.

"What," She said this time with that shocking amount acidity and venom drenching the simple unimpressive word.

Soda sighed heavily, holding both his hands out behind his head. "It's just that the Beatles are kind of not "tuff" 'round here if you get what I mean?" He said in a rush.

"You don't like the Beatles!" She asked incredulously. "Have you listened to them?" She asked with one eyebrow raised.

"Well...yeah a bit, kind of, not really," He finished hanging his head, while smirking.

"Here," She Said Holding out the headphones. "Listen this one song then tell me what you think," She said.

"Fine," Said Soda resigned.

As Soda started listening to the song she could see that it had reached the chorus. She began to sing.

"Baby you can drive my car, yes you're gonna be a star. Baby you can drive my car, and maybe I love you!" She sang softly, smiling.

Soda too was soon smiling as he began to recognise the words through the song. It was a pretty "interesting" song at that and man she had a beautiful voice.

"What else you got?" asked Soda smiling when the song had ended.

She reached into her bag and pulled out a new cassette. Soda handed over the cassette player obligingly; watching as she flicked straight towards a song he knew must have been one of her favourites by the look of anticipation on her face.

"Man, where'd you get this from?" exclaimed Soda, face apprehensive but with smiling eyes.

"You don't like?" She said with a smile and an eyebrow cocked.

"Well...," he said looking away a fraction but smiling.

"Nah its okay not every has good taste in music," She said laughing. He ignored the jibe and laughed along with her. She seemed way more at ease now; I reckon that was Soda's goal all along. He was always very good natured with people and could make them feel better in any situation.

It was getting dark and freezing pretty damn quick. Even in Soda's jacket you could see the girl was cold. She was pale as a sheet now and her fingers were stiff around her cassette player. Dally, Steve and two-bit had already decided head home and Johnny said that he'll just crash at our place for the night.

"Hey...Uhh," Started Soda.

"Shay," She finished with a faint smile. "You still haven't told me your name either?" She asked, eyebrow raised.

"Soda. Sodapop Curtis," He said with a grin, holding out his hand.

"Soda? Seriously? That's your name! Man you're so lucky, you got such a cool name," She said with obvious excitement shaking his hand and laughing. Soda was surprised with this reaction keeping his grin effortlessly on his face. After the humour wore off his face grew more serious.

"So...Shay before you said you weren't staying anywhere for the night. Why don't you stay at our place for tonight?" He asked cautiously. Seeing Shay's really apprehensive and surprised face he added "You know it'd be fine we're always having people crash at our place,"

"I still don't know...," Started Shay nervously.

"Is there anywhere else you were thinking of going...? And it looks like rain," Soda said glancing at the dark clouds above us which had only just started appearing.

He then glanced back at her face and realised what the source of apprehension must've been. "Hey, you know there's a lock on my room, if that's what you're thinking. I mean I can always crash with my brother Pony for the night".

"I'd feel really bad though," she said but it looked like she was coming around.

"No, don't worry about, it looks like Johnny's staying over tonight too," He said looking at me, Darry and Johnny head over towards them.


End file.
